


The Brown-Eyed Barista

by tahliaisnotonfire



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Writer!Phil, barista!Dan, kinda shy!Dan, shy!Phil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-21
Updated: 2015-06-21
Packaged: 2018-04-05 10:11:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4175910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tahliaisnotonfire/pseuds/tahliaisnotonfire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan Howell worked as a barista at a small corner coffee shop where he meets an author called Phil Lester; and he's begun working on a new book.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Brown-Eyed Barista

**Author's Note:**

> This is also on my Tumblr: (http://mistahlia.tumblr.com/post/122060116776/the-brown-eyed-barista)
> 
> CHECK OUT THE AMAZING PHANART THAT 'doodlephan' ON TUMBLR MADE FOR THIS: http://doodlephan.tumblr.com/post/122618377618/um-yeah-could-i-just-order-a-caramel
> 
> Please enjoy ^.^ (Thank you to 'Geronimoandbemagnificent' for being my beta on this)

The small silver-coloured bell rang as yet another customer stepped foot inside the small coffee shop. Dan Howell walked to a table in his uniform with a coffee in hand that his co-worker, Zoe Sugg, made. He smiled at the young couple seated at the table, whilst setting down their coffees in front of them. He walked away and sighed before heading back to the counter.

“Oh, Dan, liven up a bit, will you?” Zoe grinned, playfully hitting his shoulder.

“Sorry, I just hate working. It’s boring as all hell,” Dan leaned his elbow on the counter and placed his chin in his palm.

Dan was only working at this small corner coffee shop due to his lack of work experience. He was losing money and his parents were not up to the deal Dan tried to make with them--which was none…

“It’s not that bad! Who knows? You might meet your prince charming during your time here,” Zoe nudged Dan’s shoulder, gently enough to not make him fall over.

Dan rolled his eyes but blushed instantly. Dan was in fact gay, and Zoe has been the most supportive person out of everyone he’s told, including his family. Dan didn’t even have to tell Zoe his secret. She figured it out by herself with the way he acted around a few male customers who would enter the store.

“Get real, Zoe. You don’t know how hard it is for a gay person to find someone else who is just as in love as you are,” Dan explained. Zoe frowned playfully as she headed into the back room to grab some more boxes of coffee beans.

Dan has been single for almost three years. His last relationship wasn’t exactly the most appealing one he’d had, to say the least. The boy was extremely clingy and he never stopped calling Dan to make sure he was okay and where he was. He would ask to hang out with Dan every single day of the week and he just never left him alone. The poor boy was heartbroken when Dan decided to break them up but he knew it was the right thing to do. Dan didn’t need someone like that. It was too much for him to handle.

As Dan was distracted, he didn’t hear the bell ring in the entranceway to the shop. They looked around the small store whilst heading towards the counter, noticing Dan was in a daydream.

“Um, excuse me?” The customer asked shyly.

Dan immediately shook from his daydream and noticed the most beautiful sight he’d seen in a long period of time standing before him. It was a boy who looked almost six feet tall-about Dan’s height-with bright ocean blue eyes and dark raven coloured hair. Thin black glasses framed his face nicely with pale skin glowing from the sun shining in through the windows.

Dan was absolutely mesmerized. He almost forgot that he was meant to be in working mode.

“O-Oh, I’m terribly sorry, Sir. What would you like today?” Dan’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink, his shoulders tensing due to his previous actions.

“Um, yeah, could I just order a caramel macchiato?” The blue-eyed stranger asked, his voice quiet and shy, just as his first words were.

“Here or to go?” Dan asked. He was trying desperately not to get distracted by the stranger too much, but he accidentally began staring for longer than he’d thought.

“Here, please,” it seemed the boy was blushing also unless that was just his shyness creeping up on him.

Dan didn’t bother writing down the order. Caramel macchiato was his favourite coffee flavor, so he was sure to remember this. (Well, it’s not like he had to remember it for long as he was going to get Zoe to make this one. He wanted to try to make conversation with this stranger.)

“Zoe?!” Dan called, stepping into the back room. He spotted the girl rummaging through boxes.

“Yeah?” She asked, looking up at Dan.

“Can you make a caramel macchiato?” Dan said, pouting his lips, giving her puppy-dog eyes. He really hoped Zoe wouldn’t make him do this. He so desperately wanted to talk more with this strangely attractive-looking boy.

“Why can’t you do it?” Zoe asked, walking over to Dan and looking over his shoulder.

She saw the blue-eyed boy sitting on a stool next to the counter, tapping his fingers on it, beating out a rhythm. Zoe smirked, immediately knowing Dan’s excuse.

“Well, uh…I-” Dan was cut off as Zoe interrupted him.

“Ohhhh, I see. Right, I’m on it,” Zoe giggled, patting Dan on the chest before she slipped past him and towards the coffee machine in the small kitchen area.

Dan blushed for the third time that day, turning around to head back to the counter where the boy was sitting.

“It’ll be ready in a few minutes,” Dan piped up.

The boy nodded in acknowledgement.

“You didn’t sound like you were from around these parts of England,” Dan instantly began trying to form a conversation.

He’d noticed the boy’s accent was a bit deeper than his. Possibly northern and somewhat soothing.

“Oh, yeah. I’m from up North,” the boy smiled, a faint pink colour on his cheeks. “Are you from this part?”

“Yeah, I’ve been growing up here all my life. Are you visiting or…?” Dan asked politely, trying not to stutter. He didn’t want to embarrass himself again.

“Actually, I just moved here two nights ago…it’s very pretty down here,” the stranger replied, his eyes scanning the beautifully coloured coffee shop.

“I can agree with that…what’s your name, by the way? If you don’t mind me asking,” Dan showed off his signature smile, a cheeky side smirk, causing the raven-haired boy to turn a bright shade of red.

“I’m Phil. Philip Lester,” Phil, giggled. _Giggled._

Dan almost let out a scream due to the sound Phil had just made. He declared it the most adorable sound he’d ever heard in his entire life and immediately wanted to hear it on replay.

“I’m Dan Howell,” Dan introduced himself, reaching out a hand to shake Phil’s own.

“I realised,” Phil complied to the handshake before pointing shyly at Dan’s chest with his free hand.

Dan was confused for a split second before realising he had a name tag attached to his shirt. At this coffee shop, uniforms didn’t exist.

Dan forced out a chuckle, not having any idea that he could potentially look absolutely embarrassing right about now but Phil didn’t seem to mind. He seemed to be intrigued by the younger boy.

“Here we are; one caramel macchiato!” Zoe interrupted the boys, setting down the mug in front of Phil on top of a plate with a spoon placed next to it.

“Thank you very much, uh, Zoe,” Phil read off her name tag, smiling politely.

He grabbed the plate with the coffee and wandered off towards the back of the coffee shop. He sat down smoothly, pulling out what looked to be a notebook from his winter jacket with a pen attached to it. Phil looked up toward the counter and noticed Dan was staring at him. He faintly blushed and smiled back before opening up the notebook to scribble words onto the paper.

Dan sighed with a smile on his lips, his head resting in the palm of his hands as he stared longingly at the boy. Dan had never met someone so beautiful in his entire life. Phil had something about him that made Dan want to wrap his arms around his waist and press himself flush against the blue-eyed boy.

“What did I tell you, Howell? You’re already practically in love with him,” a smug face appeared on Zoe’s, causing Dan to elbow her playfully.

“I’ve just met him. I only know his name and that he moved here two nights ago,” Dan replied, his eyes averting away from Phil to look at Zoe.

“Well, why don’t you learn more about him? He’ll have to come back over sooner or later to pay for the drink. Get to know him a little more; I’ll continue working with Louise when she arrives,” Zoe smirked, placing a hand on Dan’s shoulder.

Zoe was much shorter than Dan, but since he was leaning on the counter, she could reach him easily.

Dan remembered Louise Pentland, a friend and fellow co-worker, was going to start her shift soon and he didn’t want Zoe talking about Phil to her. When it comes to Louise on the subject of Dan and his love life, she wants to know every detail and gets extremely excited when it’s brought up.

“Don’t tell her about Phil, okay? She’ll freak out,” he warned Zoe, looking back over in the direction of the boy sitting at a table with his notepad still out.

 _I wonder what he’s writing in there,_ Dan thought.

“So Phil’s his name, huh? Cute. Well, you have fun with that,” Zoe winked at Dan as if she were extremely professional, before walking into the small kitchen area once again.

Dan kept his eyes locked on the boy. Unfortunately, he had to take a few customers’ orders, which distracted him from the addictive sight.

**~Tuesday, 12:31pm~**

Phil was just finishing up the last bit of his coffee as he quickly wrote one more word down into the notebook. He closed it and attached the pen back to it before he slipped it into his jacket again. He grabbed the plate and mug carefully and brought it back over to the counter.

Dan was finishing up with a customer just as Phil walked over with his empty mug in hand.

“Have a lovely day,” Dan smiled towards the girl who had a plastic cup in hand filled to the brim with her choice of coffee.

“Hey, Dan. I finished…” Phil looked down at his shoes, flicking his fringe out of his eyes.

Dan was once more mesmerised by Phil’s beauty. He couldn’t help but stare for a few more seconds before nodding and taking the mug and plate away from him. Their fingers brushed briefly and Dan flushed red. He was such a sap.

“Did it live up to your expectations?” Dan asked, placing the cutlery next to the cash register in front of him.

“It did. It tasted beautiful,” Phil smiled, looking softly into Dan’s eyes.

Phil noticed they were a deep shade of brown. He couldn’t help but explore them a little more than he’d thought he would. All of a sudden, Dan’s voice interrupted their staring session.

“T-That’ll be £3.16,” Dan stuttered. He was so entranced by Phil that he stumbled over his words like an idiot.

“Oh, right, sorry,” Phil quickly grabbed out his wallet from his back pocket and giving Dan a five dollar note.

A blush spread across his cheeks as their hands touched again. This time, they lingered for a bit before Dan pulled away to insert the money into the cash register.

Phil was about to turn around to leave the shop until Dan stopped him.

“Hey, Phil?”

“Yeah?” He stopped himself to look up into Dan’s deep brown eyes.

“What were you writing in that notebook of yours, by the way? N-Not that I was looking at you or anything, I just uh, casually glanced over and noticed you were writing in a notebook and-” Dan was rambling, so Phil stopped him.

He chuckled, “Its fine, Dan. I was writing ideas in that notebook. I write and illustrate books. It’s my job,” Phil smiled, proud of what he did for a living.

“That’s extremely interesting. What kind of books have you written?” Dan asked, entranced by the older boy’s work life.

“Actually, wait. Hold that thought,” Dan quickly stated before turning his back on Phil to call out to Zoe.

“Zoe?! Can I go on my lunch break early?” He saw Zoe emerge from the kitchen area, a smirk plastered on her face.

“Now, I’m guessing?” She asked, glancing at Phil and back to Dan.

He nodded and Zoe grinned before saying he could.

This was how they became fully involved in a conversation. It changed from Phil’s job to what their interests were within minutes. There were plenty of subjects to talk about with each other; the two of them had a lot in common. Zoe would walk past casually and few times and smile at the two boys. She hadn’t seen Dan this happy in a while.

She knew she wasn’t meant to tell Louise, but there was no way that secret was being kept to just herself. The girls would look at them from a distance and giggle to themselves, enjoying the view.

Soon, the boys’ conversation ended abruptly due to Phil’s phone vibrating in his pocket. It was a text message from his boss asking him when he will be arriving at a particular meeting.

“Oh, I’m really sorry, Dan, I have to go,” Phil said, frantically shoving his phone back into his pocket and turning away from the counter towards the front door.

Dan’s eyes widened. He was leaving so suddenly? But what if he never comes back?

“W-Wait, Phil! Could I get your number or something?” Dan called out, ignoring the odd looks from customers inside the shop.

“Trust me, I’ll be back tomorrow!” Phil called back out before slipping through the door and walking down the road.

Dan stared long and hard at the door, secretly hoping Phil would walk back in and they could continue their conversation. But he didn’t. Dan was already crossing his fingers, hoping that tomorrow would come quicker.

**~Wednesday, 4:46pm~**

 

Every time the small bell rang out, Dan would excitedly look towards the door and expected Phil to be walking through. So far, he hadn’t come in that day and it was almost closing time. Dan was washing up the dishes whilst Zoe was serving a few more customers. Louise was helping Dan with the dishes and she gave a frown when she noticed Dan looked upset.

“What’s the matter, Daniel?” She asked, setting down the freshly washed mug she was holding with the cloth next to it.

“I was…expecting someone,” Dan sighed, not bothering to look up from his work.

Louise cocked her head to the side, immediately realising who he was talking about. She abandoned her job with the dishes to meet Zoe in front of the cash register.

“Have you seen Phil at all today?” She asked, nudging Zoe just as she’d finished serving the last customer that’d lined up.

“No, I haven’t. Dan’s been really down about it,” Zoe replied. She turned on the coffee machine and began to make a plain black coffee for a young man who ordered it.

“I can tell…” Louise muttered, glancing into the kitchen to see Dan’s head hung low whilst washing the dishes.

“Maybe he got busy. He might be in tom-” before Zoe could finish her sentence, someone burst through the door.

To the girls’ surprise, it was Phil. He was dressed in a buttoned-up top with dark grey jeans and a pair of black converse to go with the overall outfit. He looked extremely professional.

“Phil!” Zoe exclaimed in excitement, glad to see him.

In the kitchen, Dan hadn’t even heard Zoe’s yell. He was too entranced by washing the dishes that he’d blocked out the noise around him.

 _Boy, is he going to be happy Phil’s here,_ Louise thought as she smiled at Phil.

“Hey, Zoe! Hi, um, sorry, I’ve never gotten your name?” Phil spoke, breathing heavily.

“Louise, at your service,” Louise introduced herself, shaking Phil’s hand and grinning at him.

“Nice to meet you…um, is Dan still here, by any chance? I was held back at…work and I was stressing each time a minute passed and I…knew you guys were closing soon so um…yeah,” Phil rambled, catching his breath every so often.

“He sure is! He’s out back in the kitchen. I think he’s super focused on his work that he doesn’t even know you’re here yet!” Louise grinned from ear to ear. She couldn’t wait to see the smile that would appear on Dan’s face when he notices Phil’s presence.

“Would you like a coffee at all, Phil?” Zoe offered.

“Oh, no thanks, I won’t let you waste time as you need to be closing up soon. Um, can I go see him? If I’m allowed behind the counter, that is,” Phil fumbled with his hands, looking at the ground with a blush tinted on his cheeks.

Zoe and Louise cooed at this.

“Of course, you can! Go surprise him,” Zoe leaned over the counter a small bit too pat Phil on his shoulder. She did have to reach up higher than usual as Phil was practically the same height as Dan.

Phil’s cheeks tinted darker as he shyly walked around the counter and into the kitchen area. Dan still hadn’t noticed Phil’s presence.

Suddenly, Dan felt someone poke his hip. He jumped slightly, sighing as he was about to scold either Zoe or Louise , though he stopped himself immediately. Phil stood in front of him in a smart outfit, smiling at him. Dan couldn’t help but smile as well.

“I didn’t think you were going to come,” Dan stated, fiddling with his fingers as Phil to give him a guilty smile.

“I’m sorry, I got caught up in work. But I never break a promise,” Phil wrapped his arms around Dan’s waist unexpectedly in a tight hug.

Dan was surprised, to say the least. But he hugged back, nonetheless. He placed his arms around Phil’s neck and snuggled his head into the crook of Phil’s neck. Was this weird to be hugging someone so naturally but it’s only the second time you’ve met them? Dan found it a little strange and scary. But this was Phil. Dan was already falling in love with Phil, so he thought it was okay.

**~Saturday, 3:14pm~**

“So, what’s your book going to be about?” Dan asked Phil as they walked down a path in the park together.

It was Saturday and Dan was off work. The night Phil arrived late at the coffee shop, they held up a conversation for about 10 minutes before closing time. Phil offered to walk Dan home and he obliged. Dan didn’t live too far away so it was a short walk. Phil wrote down his number onto some spare paper he had in his notebook and ripped it out to give to Dan.

The next morning, Phil texted Dan as he’d exchanged numbers the night before and asked if he wanted to hang out for the day at the park when the weekend arrived. Dan agreed.

The day had arrived, and the sun shone down on the two boys. Phil wore those adorable glasses Dan loved ever-so-much from the first day they met with some bright coloured clothing. Dan wore all black (to match his supposed soul, as he so often described it) with his hair straightened like every other day.

“I can’t tell you. That’d be spoilers,” Phil answered Dan’s previous question about the new book he’s writing.

Dan groaned. “Why can’t I knoooow?”

“You have to wait like everyone else. I’ll have it finished in maybe 3 or 4 months,” Phil replied, giggling at Dan’s annoyed expression.

“Fine,” Dan huffed but smiled in the process.

Phil was so attractive in Dan’s eyes. He doesn’t even know if the boy had a girlfriend. _Or if he was possibly gay…_

“Are you…going out with anyone at the moment?” Dan asked, silently crossing his fingers in his head that Phil would answer “No."

“What a straightforward question,” Phil chuckled, “and no, I’m not dating anyone. I’m uh, actually, I’m gay,” Phil blushed a dark crimson at the confession he’d just made to Dan.

They hadn’t known each other that long. Was it strange that Phil felt as though he could trust Dan with anything by this short point in their ‘friendship’?

Dan grinned. It’s not like he was going to hold back now.

“So you understand both feelings,” Dan commented.

Phil didn’t even have to ask what Dan meant. He knew what he meant straight away. Phil didn’t question it as he just looked over at Dan and smiled.

**~3½ months later, 11:02am~**

The rest of their day went smoothly. Actually, the last few months have gone smoothly. Dan and Phil became fast friends and Phil would come in at least three times a week for a coffee and to get a chance to speak with Dan.

Zoe and Louise would tease Dan a bunch every time Phil left, which would leave him blushing. Zoe found it cute whilst Louise found it absolutely hilarious.

The girls began to ask him why Dan hasn’t asked Phil out on a date yet but he continued to claim that he was scared of what Phil might think. Dan has always been scared of rejection. It wasn’t in his nature to be the most confident person on earth.

Dan was meeting Phil today in the coffee shop and he was physically jumping from the excitement. Dan wasn’t working today but Zoe and Louise were. He greeted them as he walked in and sat down at one of the tables in the back corner. He glanced at the time on his phone.

11:05am.

_Phil should be here soon._

Dan hasn’t been this excited to see Phil ever. Phil began writing his new book a few months back and Dan remembered him saying that it would be finished around this time. Dan got a call from Phil yesterday night saying that the book was almost finished and that a draft was made for it. Dan was excited to hear Phil sound extremely proud of his work.

Dan still had absolutely no idea what this book was about. He was told no plot, no character names, and no nothing. Phil was bringing in a copy today for him to look at it and give Phil his own opinions on the title and summary.

Dan scrolled through his mentions on Twitter and Tumblr for a while before he heard the all-too-familiar bell ring in the entranceway.

Dan glanced up and saw Phil walk in with a bag draped over his shoulder. The beautiful blue-eyed boy spotted Dan and gave him an award-winning smile. It almost Dan’s heart melt-as cheesy as it sounds.

Dan stood up just in time as Phil walked over and gave him a tight hug. Phil gripped his arms around Dan’s waist and squeezed him to know he missed him just as much as the other did.

Phil sat down in his seat opposite Dan and looked down nervously at the table.

“How are you, Phil?” Dan asked, a grin spread on his face.

“I’ve been good…” Phil muttered under his breath, a blush creeping up onto his cheeks.

“Is something wrong?” Dan became worried within a second. Was it something he said? Did he do something Phil didn’t like?

“Oh, no, nothing, it’s just…can I talk to you about something before we get on the topic of the book?” Phil looked up at Dan, a knot forming in the pit of his stomach.

Dan only nodded and made sure to give Phil a smile. He wanted it to be a reassurance that whatever Phil needs to talk about will be okay with him.

Phil took a deep breath.

“Just…p-please don’t laugh? I’ve never done this before and I don’t really know how this goes and I’m like, the shyest person on Earth and just please don’t laugh…” Phil explained, this time not looking at Dan. Actually, he looked everywhere _but_ Dan.

“Of course, Phil. I won’t laugh,” Dan said in an honest tone.

Phil glanced up at Dan. He was doing this.

“I…okay, well, we’ve been hanging out for a few months now, right? And um…I may or may not have gained a crush on you?” Phil said this as more of a question than a statement.

Dan was shocked to hear this but didn’t say anything as Phil continued.

“I-I know you might just want to be friends and don’t worry, I’m perfectly fine with that. I just really, really wanted to get that off my chest and tell you because it’s been bothering me for a quite a while now and I didn’t want to say it so soon because it might ruin the friendship we have and I desperately don’t want to lose that and-” Phil was saying such nonsense in Dan’s eyes so he stopped him.

“Oh, shut up, you dork,” Dan chuckled, catching Phil’s eyes in a glance.

Phil immediately went quiet once his eyes locked with Dan’s. He couldn’t exactly tell what Dan was thinking but he knew it was a good type of feeling.

“I didn’t know if I was being obvious or not but it looks like I wasn’t. I like you too, Phil. I think I practically knew that since the day you first walked through that door,” Dan pointed behind Phil but he didn’t have to look.

Phil was happy. He was more than happy. He was _ecstatic._

“I’m glad to hear that,” Phil blushed, placing his hands on the table and fiddling with his fingers.

Dan stopped them as he reached out his own hands to touch Phil’s. Phil looked up shyly at Dan and noticed Dan concentrating on their hands. Phil suddenly felt his fingers intertwining with Dan’s own. Phil didn’t think he could blush this hard but unfortunately, he was.

“Now, are you going to show me this book or what?” Dan exclaimed, laughing at Phil’s embarrassed expression.

“Right, yeah,” Phil pulled away one of his hands from Dan’s to reach into the bag he was carrying beforehand. He pulled out the book, looking at the cover and sighing happily.

Phil was so proud of this book. He had no idea what Dan might think of it. There are two options of how this could go down: Dan could either absolutely hate it and think it’s disturbing or find it the sweetest thing in existence.

Phil put down the book and pushed it over towards Dan so the cover was facing him. Dan examined over the book, reading the title. Dan didn’t even take two seconds of looking at the cover before ripping his hands away from Phil’s.

He stood up from the table and around to Phil’s side, grabbing his hands once more to pull him up out of his seat. Dan pulled their bodies flush against each other; Phil could smell Dan’s deodorant radiating off his body. Dan leaned in close to Phil’s face, their noses inches from touching.

“You’re such a fucking idiot,” Dan breathed out before turning his head sideways a little and leaning in to connect his lips with Phil’s.

Phil gasped at the sudden movement but soon began melting into the kiss. Dan’s lips were soft and plump.

There was no lust into the kiss the two boys were sharing. No tongue or dominance. This was full of pure love and innocence.

Phil let go of Dan’s hands and found their way to Dan’s hips, squeezing them. Dan wrapped his arms around Phil’s neck, deepening their kiss slowly and surely. Phil shouldn’t have been so petrified about this book.

He just knows that ‘The Brown-Eyed Barista’ is going to sell greatly on shelves.

Dan knew later that he would have to tell Zoe she was right from the beginning...

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are appreciated ^.^


End file.
